[quicklog: oliver & hunter & puppies at the graveyard]

[Summers turned his paintbrushes all green and gold, all of his ocher pencils would soon be worn down to inoperable nubs. Oliver gave colors to summer, and it wasn't lost on him that a graveyard made for strange juxtaposition to that kind of palette. Maybe he didn't have a great and established experience with graveyards because he thought of them in slate and gray like graphite headstone rubbings on phantom paper. So Oliver didn't bring a plume of colors or varied supplies with him on the walk to the local cemetery. There was just a cheap, composition notebook in his hands and a couple of mechanical pencils sticking out of the front pocket of his blue corduroys.

The plans hadn't exactly been set in stone, and Oliver found a little irony in the turn of phrase as he wandered between headstones. He figured on just wandering with aspirations of finding the gravedigger at work. Oliver found it difficult to imagine Hunter going anywhere without his dogs, so it seemed like a safe bet to come here.

Maybe it was weird to want to draw the dogs of somebody who was practically still a stranger, but after what had happened with the woman in Sonrisa, Oliver couldn't stop thinking about that big, wolf-like dog with all those teeth. He thought that maybe if he drew it, he'd be able to get it out of his head. It seemed like a good plan of attack, but Oliver didn't have much experience with drawing animals. He needed some live models, to find his footing.

That was the plan anyway, as he made his way across the grass, squinting with appreciation for the summer sun that would provide light for hours to come even though it was late in the afternoon.]

May. 25th, 2016

jude phonecall, but open to those nearby when this goes down

[After this. When he'd seen the really disturbed woman pull out a gun, he'd ducked behind the counter and stayed hidden even after the gunshot fell to silence. Eventually, he'd come up shaking with sweat on his face. The woman's body was an arc with blood splatter all across the floor like an impressionist volcano. He winced away, fucked up by the sight of it, sobbing to no one and shaking at the idea of having to call the police or who the fuck ever you were supposed to call in these situations. The woman was clearly dead, she didn't even twitch, and Oliver felt sick when he sank down behind the counter again.

Thats when the dog came. Oliver's fault for leaving the door propped open all day because he liked the breeze. They didn't have AC at the house in the woods, and breeze felt familiar, organic. The dog took her by the neck. He was big and black, and Oliver sat on the floor watching as the dog bared his teeth on her throat and dragged her out of the store, leaving a long trail of blood that would eventually lead to the woods.

Oliver covered his face with both hands, shaking. He felt sick, and he knew he wasn't supposed to be here. If the police came, because surely somebody called them after hearing a gunshot, he wasn't supposed to be here. What if the authorities asked about him or where he lived or where he came from? It was best to go unseen, but he didn't know what to do. So he picked up the Sonrisa phone and called the bar where his brother was supposed to be.]

Mar. 25th, 2016

Sasha, Cat, 'Aubrey', Gwen, Oliver, Hunter, Louis, Public

tell me you got someone devastating and wonderful as your partner for this shindig. i want to know details.

[cat]

do you egg, ma'am?

['aubrey']

hello. i think you're my dance partner for this affair.

[gwen]

are you alright out there? if you left for any particular reason, can we fix it?

[oliver]

eggs? gwens? are you alright with the world, sunshine?

[hunter]

you're known for being the man with the dogs. (positive, positive). recommendations for a friend, who'd like to own a dog that isn't puppy milled, will nominally be a guardian and is actually going to love him thoroughly.

[louis]

are you participating in the ode to spring that is digging for pastel-colored eggs?

[public]

it occurs to me that i never paid that much attention to the rules of this particular game.